Snakes live almost everywhere: deserts forests oceans streams lakes and on the ground in trees and in water. The only places without snakes are the Arctic and Antarctica high in the mountains where the ground is frozen year-round and some islands including Ireland and New Zealand. In this article we’ll learn another thing or two about snakes.
How Big Are They?
Although most snakes are approximately three feet long there are some seriously notable exceptions to this rule!
Largest: The reticulated python found in Southeast Asia can grow to about 30 feet long (that’s about as long a bus) and is the world’s longest snake and longest reptile. The average adult is “only” 10 to 20 feet. The anaconda found in tropical South America isn’t the world’s longest snake (at up to 25 feet it only takes second place!) but it’s the world’s heaviest and can weigh over 300 pounds.
Smallest: The world’s smallest snake is the 4-inch thread snake found on the Caribbean island of Barbados.
Snake Skin
A snake’s skeleton is basically a skull spine and ribs. There are usually more than 120 vertebrae (bones that make up the spine) in the body and tail and as many as 400 in some species.
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